Predator Drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

News about predator drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 26, 2015

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is expected to reveal more details about company's plans to use drones to beam high-speed data to some of world's remotest regions via laser; comes on heels of company announcing that it is opening up its code for mobile messaging app Messenger, among series of moves to broaden company's influence. MORE

Mar. 25, 2015

Officials say Pres Obama's decision to keep 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan through 2015 is partly meant to support counterterrorism moves there, including CIA's ability to carry out secret drone strikes; decision comes after daylong White House meeting with Afghanistan Pres Ashraf Ghani and is necessary response to expected springtime resurgence of Taliban aggression and to give Afghan forces more training. MORE

Mar. 20, 2015

Federal Aviation Administration gives Amazon permission to conduct test flights of its delivery drones outdoors; it will probably be years before online retailer can begin delivering packages to people's homes from the air. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Pentagon says Adan Garar, senior member of Shabab militant group, was killed in drone strike in Somalia. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

Justice Department says it will not criminally charge federal employee Shawn Usman, who was flying a private drone that crashed on White House grounds in January; Federal Aviation Administration starts investigation to decide whether Usman should be fined. MORE

Mar. 14, 2015

United States military officials are assessing results of drone strike in Somalia that targeted Adan Garar and two other members of Shabab extremist group. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Paris police arrest three Al Jazeera journalists for flying drone over large part on western edge of city; arrests come amid mounting anxiety over unauthorized objects seen in city's skies; journalists are thought to have been capturing footage for news piece, but flying drones over city without permission is prohibited. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

United Nations-mandated cease-fire monitors want more drones and radar systems for their mission in Ukraine conflict with Russian-backed separatists. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

Editorial welcomes Pres Obama's measures to oversee drone use by government agencies, but says they fall short of fully protecting Americans' privacy; notes Federal Aviation Administration's latest proposals allow commercial use of drones but with restrictions; contends that with such a new technology, efforts must be made to lay down appropriate uses for such devices. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

State Department issues new rules for international export of armed drones, move that attempts to keep American lead in fast-growing market; use of weapon is likely to increase in fight against terrorism. MORE

Feb. 16, 2015

Federal Aviation Administration's proposed rules for commercial drones are less restrictive than current ones but may preclude type of delivery services companies, like Amazon, are exploring; rules include restrictions on speed, altitude and hours, and also require operators to see drones with naked eye; Pres Obama, in effort to address privacy fears, signs memorandum requiring government agencies to publicly report drone use. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

First column by Prof Jelani Cobb confesses to buying drone merely out of curiosity; examines the roots of seemingly widely held fear of drones, and concludes that they are not unjustified; suggests that the problem with drones is not one of technology, but of the mischief humans will inevitably engage in. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Drone strike in Yemen reportedly kills four members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including prominent figure Harith al-Nadhari, who had publicly praised Paris terrorist attacks. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Law enforcement officials report that Secret Service agents investigating Shawn Usman, operator of drone that recently crashed on White House lawn, believe there is sufficient evidence to charge him with a crime; case has been presented to federal prosecutors, and Usman may also face civil charges from Federal Aviation Administration. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Farhad Manjoo State of the Art column uses crash landing of drone operated by hobbyist on White House lawn to illustrate how regulations governing use of drones in United States are completely backward; argues laws limiting commercial operators of drones, yet allowing hobbyists free reign, retard growth of industry that has immense potential. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

Law enforcement and security officials who protect big events like the Super Bowl and buildings like White House say detecting and stopping drones is increasingly problematic, although they have not been used in terrorist attack; warn that drones could be utilized to carry explosives, guns and other threatening equipment or material. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

Gail Collins Op-Ed column humorously discusses incident where intoxicated government worker guided a drone onto the White House lawn; says people's opinion on drones depends on whether they live in crowded area or a unpopulated place; notes confusion abounds over lack of drone regulation. MORE

Jan. 28, 2015

Officials say small drone that evaded White House radar and crashed on grounds was result of drunken misadventure by off-duty employee of a government intelligence agency; man has not been named by Secret Service and has not been charged with a crime. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

Undetected civilian drone accidentally crashes on the South Lawn of the White House, raising significant security questions; small device posed no threat itself, but easily passed through radar and could have been weaponized with simple modifications; incident is only the latest security breach to highlight increasing difficulties faced by the Secret Service. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

CIA drone strike kills three men suspected of being members of Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, tentatively identified as Awaid al-Rashidi, Abdullah Khaled al-Zindani and Mohammed Toiman al-Jahmi; drone strike, first since resignation of Pres Abdu Rabbu Mansour after Houthi takeover of capital, hints that United States plans to continue its targeted killing operations in Yemen. MORE

Jan. 16, 2015

Group of 10 news organizations join Virginia Tech to test efficacy of drones for news gathering; partnership includes The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBC Universal; Virginia Tech remains one of six sites approved by the FAA for testing unmanned aircraft systems. MORE

Jan. 5, 2015

Pakistani security official says American drone missile attack targeting Uzbek commander known as Usman killed at least six foreign militants at compound in North Waziristan tribal region near Afghanistan border. MORE

Dec. 31, 2014

Somali officials confirm death of Abdishakur, chief of intelligence for the Shabab who is also known as Tahliil, in American drone strike. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

Travel Q&A with TravelByDrone founder Jan Hiersemenzel, who discusses how he has organized his now expanded library of more than 8,000 user-uploaded videos . MORE

Dec. 27, 2014

Two separate drone strikes in North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan kill at least nine suspected militants. MORE

Dec. 21, 2014

Six militants are killed in American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan, first since mass killing of 148 people, mostly Pakistani schoolchildren, by Taliban gunmen. MORE

Dec. 7, 2014

News analysis; Federal Aviation Administration is struggling to deal with regulatory nightmare of integrating recreational drones into most complicated airspace in the world; many local governments have introduced legislation to restrict use of drones in some way instead of waiting for FAA to issue new guidelines. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

Drones, small unmanned flying vehicles, have become common nuisance as pranksters, troublemakers and criminals find uses for the increasingly inexpensive technology; Federal Aviation Administration, saying it receives about 25 reports every month of drones operating near manned aircraft, is expected to issue new rules for commercial use by 2015. MORE

Nov. 19, 2014

National Transportation Safety Board rules that Federal Aviation Administration has authority to apply restrictions against 'reckless or careless use' of aircraft to unmanned drones. MORE

Nov. 19, 2014

National Transportation Safety Board says government has power to hold drone operators accountable when they operate them recklessly; rules small drones are a type of aircraft and fall under existing Federal Aviation Administration rules. MORE

Nov. 13, 2014

Pentagon plays down Iran's assertion that it replicated and tested sophisticated bat-winged American spy drone captured there in 2011, calling such claims gross exaggeration. MORE

Nov. 12, 2014

Some scientists say arms makers have crossed into troubling territory by developing weapons, like guided missiles, that rely on artificial intelligence, not human instruction, to decide what to target and whom to kill; as these weapons become smarter and nimbler, critics fear they will become increasingly difficult for humans to control, or to defend against. MORE

Nov. 7, 2014

Two men and a woman are questioned by police in France after being arrested in possession of two drones near Belleville-sur-Loire nuclear power plant. MORE

Nov. 4, 2014

French security officials are investigating mysterious wave of drone flights that have illegally buzzed over more than dozen nuclear plants across the country. MORE

Oct. 31, 2014

American drone strike kills at least six militants in the South Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan; strike brings fresh protests from the Pakistani government as being violation of its sovereignty. MORE

Oct. 8, 2014

Two drone strikes on Taliban compounds in Pakistan kill at least 10 militants; strikes, believed to be from US drones, brings total number to three within 24 hours. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

American drone strike in northwestern Pakistan kills four people suspected of being militants. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Federal Aviation Administration will allow six filmmaking companies to use camera-equipped drones on certain movie and television sets; decision, first major exemption to ban on commercial drones, follows intense lobbying from Hollywood; could pave the way for wider use in industries like agriculture, energy and online retailing. MORE

Sep. 11, 2014

Gadgetwise column reviews Phantom 2 Vision Plus, made by company DJI, drone designed to allow users to take photos and videos. MORE

Sep. 1, 2014

Google's demonstration of Project Wing, drone delivery system, shows that tech industry's enthusiasm for drones continues undimmed, but plenty of issues with delivery-by-drone services have yet to be resolved. MORE

Aug. 26, 2014

Iran's state television shows video footage of what it says are remains of Israeli drone shot down by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp in vicinity of nuclear enrichment site in Natanz. MORE

Aug. 25, 2014

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps says it shot down Israeli drone that was heading toward Iranian nuclear enrichment site in Natanz; no evidence has been provided, and Israeli officials decline to comment. MORE

Aug. 25, 2014

Editorial praises National Park Service for imposing temporary ban on the use of airborne drones by visitors to national parks and monuments; holds proliferation of noisy devices, which are becoming increasingly affordable, had begun to impede on serenity of other visitors. MORE

Aug. 14, 2014

Archaeologists around the world, who have long relied on the classic tools of their profession, like the trowel and the plumb bob, are now turning to the modern technology of drones to defend and explore endangered sites. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Pakistani officials report that American drone strike against compound in North Waziristan tribal district killed at least six people. MORE

Aug. 4, 2014

Drones are flying all over New York City, deployed more and more by those who love gadgets; new models are coming on the market, and their proliferation is resulting in privacy and safety issues; few regulations cover the small unmanned remote-controlled aircraft, whose prices are dropping and whose operators may have no experience or training. MORE

Aug. 3, 2014

Wedding photographers are latest to get on board with idea of using drones, as they employ them to capture unique views of couple's special day, but legality of such practices is still to be determined. MORE

Jul. 22, 2014

Wildlife Conservation Society has begun using drones for conservation purposes, monitoring state of natural resources. MORE

Jul. 20, 2014

American drone strike in Pakistan kills 15 militants; it is the fourth known drone strike in North Waziristan since launch of military operation in Pakistan. MORE

January 14, 2006, Saturday

By DAVID S. CLOUD and CARLOTTA GALL; David S. Cloud reported from Washington for this article, and Carlotta Gall from Kabul

Nearly three days after a Chinook helicopter went down in heavy combat in eastern Afghanistan, American troops were able to reach the crash site and recovered the bodies of all 16 troops who were aboard, military officials said. But Pentagon...